


Échappé

by bigyeetyrus



Category: Tiny Pretty Things (TV)
Genre: Best Friends, CAN I STILL RATE IT G WHEN IT HAS ONE CUSS WORD, Caleb-centric, Cutesy, Denial of Feelings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Empathy, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Falling In Love, French, Grief/Mourning, Headaches & Migraines, I HAD TO WRITE THIS FOR THE COMMUNITY, I Tried, I Will Go Down With This Ship, In between canon, JUST TWO BROS HANGING OUT, LDNDLDJSH, LGBTQ Character of Color, LGBTQ Themes, Late at Night, M/M, Men Crying, Metaphors, Missing Scene, Nabil deserves better, Nightmares, Parallels, Sharing a Bed, Sleepy Boys, omg they were roommates.., perhaps it’s mutual pining...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:08:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28208826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigyeetyrus/pseuds/bigyeetyrus
Summary: Caleb finds his traumatized roommate crying in his sleep.
Relationships: Caleb Wick/Nabil Limyadi
Comments: 16
Kudos: 85





	Échappé

**Author's Note:**

> GIVE IT UP FOR THE HEALTHIEST RELATIONSHIP IN TPT- lolol I hope you enjoy this one, fellow reader <3

Caleb didn’t have a _single_ doubt that him and Nabil had a platonic relationship. They were _purely_ just best friends. Two bros and nothing more. No doubt at all...

However, it was specifically hard to convince himself that one night. It was a couple days before everyone heard the news that Cassie was breathing on her own. Caleb had a headache and couldn’t fall asleep. He stared up at the ceiling as he rubbed his temples. Resisting the urge to groan in frustration, he reached to his phone and checked the time. _2:46 AM._

_At least it’s not the Devil’s Hour._ He thought sarcastically. Before he could think anything else, he heard heavy breathing from the other side of the room. _Nabil._ His chest was drenched in sweat and by the looks of it, he was crying in his sleep. Caleb felt his brows scrunch up in concern. He wasn’t sure when he grew a such a big soft spot for his roommate. But who wouldn’t be worried when your friend is literally crying in his sleep?

Without hesitation, he pushed away his bed sheets and walked over to Nabil. Up close, he looked even more sad. His tears looked like melted glass in the moonlight.

When he thought about it, Nabil’s heart itself was glass. It had been shattered and barely if not mended back together with glue. Who knows if the glue is working? Who knows if it _will_ work?

Once he was knelt down to his level, Caleb shook him awake as gently as he could. “Buddy.” he whispered. Nabil jolted awake with a gasp. “Hey, hey, hey, it’s alright.” He said to Nabil as he caught his breath. “Can I get you a towel or some water?” Nabil was kind of in a daze and shook his head. He sat up and just wiped his face with the bed covers. Caleb shook his head right back. “Nah, forget that, I’m getting ‘em. Stay right there!”

He ran to the bathroom with a glass and fetched a towel. While throwing the towel over his shoulders, he filled up the glass with tap water. Caleb ran back and handed him the glass of water without wasting a second to drape the towel over Nabil’s own shoulders and back. Before taking a big gulp of the water, Nabil looked up to Caleb with a blank look, his eyebrows hardly upturned. A silent thank you. Caleb tried to give him a small reassuring smile and went to sit down on his bed. Nabil turned so they were facing each other from opposite sides of the room.  
  
Nabil looked at the floor beneath his feet. Just from his side of the room, Caleb could tell he was holding in tears. “It’s okay to cry, y’know.” He said. He looked up a bit but kept his gaze down. “I know,” Nabil said, his accent thicker than usual, “I’ve just been doing it so much. I’m tired.” Caleb nodded. “My dream was frightening.” He said. It looked like Nabil was once again getting lost in his head.  
  
“Here, come over here.” Caleb motioned with a wave of the hand. A tear ran down Nabil’s cheek as he hurried over to Caleb’s arms. He hoped Nabil felt safe in his arms— just how he would’ve wanted himself to feel a year ago.   
  
They sat there for a couple of minutes, Caleb stroking circles on Nabil’s back and Nabil crying in his hands. “Your back is gonna get messed up, do you wanna lay down?” Nabil sniffled, “My back is fine.” Caleb eyed his curved back. “You sitting like that isn’t gonna help.” He quietly scoffed and dried his eyes. “Okay.” Nabil laid down reluctantly while Caleb scooted over and tried to ignore his throbbing headache. He squeezed his eyes shut and laid down too. He opened his eyes in time to see a man on the brink of another round of tears. They bursted out like a broken dam finally letting the water flow, except the water didn’t flow serenely. It was more like a volcano eruption. Sudden, but anticipating. Hot, but leaves the chilly feeling of condolence down your back. 

Caleb didn’t wait to just engulf Nabil once again. He pressed his eyes up against Caleb’s shoulder. 

Just like glue, they will have to wait a couple minutes, maybe hours, _days_ , for Nabil to finally hold together.

* * *

It was probably about 30 minutes later, Caleb couldn’t care less, and Nabil’s eyes were staring right into his. They were puffy and tired, but rich with warmth. Nabil was talking about something he wasn’t paying attention to when he just... stopped. 

“You have a headache.” He said. “Wh-“ Caleb dumbfounded. “You look so surprised. You’ve been touching your head for a long time now.” Caleb looked up to his hands currently massaging his forehead. “Oh, right.” Nabil turned over and grabbed someone from Caleb’s desk. “It’s a small headache.” He handed him a half full water bottle. “Mm, thanks.” Caleb downed the whole thing. It streamed down his chin and formed small puddles on his bedsheets. Nabil giggled a bit at Caleb’s sour expression. With a huff, he relaxed back into Nabil’s stare. Slowly, he lifted his arm and grazed Caleb’s left side of his forehead. 

“You tired yet?”

“No.” Nabil responded. Caleb liked the moonlit room, quiet atmosphere, laying down, just living and forgetting what they’ll have to do tomorrow for this corrupt ballet school they’re enrolled in. It felt like his bed was the earth and they were the only ones in it. Caleb kind of wished that was the case.

“Your eyes... je pourrais me perdre dans tes yeux.” Nabil broke his train of thought.

“What? What’s that mean?” He said playfully. The funny thing was that Caleb was now aware of his blinking. _Why would he mention my eyes?_

Nabil smiled as he exhaled through his nose. Caleb could’ve swore he felt the warm air on his face. Before he knew it, the guy was flipped over, facing his side of the room. “They are scary.” 

He laughed. “Hey, speak for yourself? Why’d you think everyone thought _you_ pushed Cassie?” 

_Shit._

Nabil froze completely. Meanwhile, Caleb tried to push out the breath stuck in his throat. “I- I’m sorry-“

”Stop it.” He sighed and flipped over again. “I know you didn’t mean it.” 

Caleb tried not to make it so obvious as he breathed deeply, catching his breath. Suddenly, a throb surrounding his eyebrows attacked his head. He sucked air through his teeth, hissing a sharp noise. “Ah— headache still there?” Nabil rubbed Caleb’s head in no particular places as he nodded. “Can you just... hold it? Hold my head?” And before they knew it, their legs were tangled, and Nabil was cradling Caleb’s aching head.   
  
“It’s warm. Thanks for this.”

“So are you.”

Nabil talked a bit more before he eventually and _finally_ went to sleep. Caleb was glad he seemed to be sleeping peacefully. He looked tranquil, like a meadow of flowers and weeds swaying in a soft wind. Just the thought of that left Caleb yawning and half asleep.

It took long after it ended for him to realized his headache vanished.


End file.
